Agile vs Waterfall vs Lean The Methodology Conundrum

***A repost from my former blog in 2016***

Have you found yourself in a methodology conundrum? In today’s corporate culture, you continuously hear leadership having discussions of different project management methodologies their companies subscribe to. Whether it is Waterfall, Agile, Lean or any vast number of methodologies it all comes down to the simple process of getting work done in the most productive way. Often I see companies stating that they are following XYZ methodology only when you get into the task of performing work they are anything but that stated methodology. My favorite saying is, “We are an Agile company! We work from home!” I would say you are more flexible in your workspace rather than stating you are Agile. So, to help some of my readers with a better understanding of some of the more common methodologies, I wanted to provide all of you with a basic reference list.

Agile Methodology

Agile methodology follows a manifesto for software development which can be identified by the use of SCRUM teams working in sprints within close-knit teams. The use of Agile is often best used in projects where you can garner value from a product in which you may only have the most important parts built. An example I’ll use is the building of a playground for your neighborhood. Your customer wants a swing set, monkey bars, a merry-go-round, and a see-saw. In an agile project, each sprint you would build one of the pieces that the customer found of most value to them. If you ran out of time or money then if you only had three of the four items for the playground it would still function as a playground. The mindset of Agile Software Development according to the manifesto is as follows:

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools – A good team with strong communication works better together than the steps you are doing and the trinkets you use to get the work done.
Working software over comprehensive documentation – The idea of working in the two to three-week sprints is that when that period of work is complete you have a piece that adds value to the overall final product. Starting work and making minor adjustments along the way is the name of this game.
Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation – It is better to work with your customers so that you produce the item that they want. This reduces the likelihood that you will create a whole product only to find out it is nowhere near what the customer wanted.
Responding to change over following a plan – As the sprints are progressing the team presents their work incrementally to the customer. This presentation gives the customer the opportunity to voice concerns so the team may make course corrections incrementally rather than in great amounts costing lost money and time.

Waterfall Methodology

The Waterfall Methodology was developed for use by NASA for working through complex projects. This methodology is best used for projects that you don’t want to build incrementally and plan to have a fully functional product in the end. Waterfall gets its name from the step-by-step process of completing the project. The steps are as follows:

Requirements – The requirements stage is the point of the project which you ascertain the need of the customer for what you build. Thinking back on the playground example from above, this would be where you gather that your customer wanted the four different items in their playground.
Design – In the design stage, the team would determine the needed material for building the playground for the customer. They would decide on all key materials, layout and how the objectives would be completed.
Implementation – In the implementation phase your team would begin the building of the playground based upon the design which was created in the prior phase. You would build your rides and place them within the confines of the work area you have been given.
Verification – In verification, this is where the project becomes tricky. Did you define the specific needs of your customer? Presenting the final product to your customer happens at this point and this is where the rubber meets the road. This point will decide whether you move to the maintenance stage or revert back to the requirements stage. Now you can see how this can be costly to your customer if your requirements were not clearly defined.
Maintenance – If your customer has signed off on your work and stated, “Job well done team!” then you may have a warranty period which you provide maintenance for a specific amount of time. If you don’t have a maintenance period then a signed-off statement of work complete and handing over the keys to the park is all you have left.

Image: Waterfall methodology: Requirements, Design, Implementation, Verification, and Maintenance

Lean Methodology

The lean methodology has become highly adopted in product development in recent years. Whether the customer wants a website or a playground it can be molded to meet the needs of the project. Some of the distinguishing traits for the lean methodology are as follows:

Minimal Viable Product (MVP) – Start with an idea and get to work. We know our customer wants a playground so let’s hit the ground running and make a park!
Build – We know our playground is going to have some rides from our conversations with our customer, and know they want a swing set. So, we build a swing set and show it to the customer.
Measure – What’s that Mr Customer, you want three swings rather than two? We will gladly add that customization to your swing set! Is that extra swing more important than the merry-go-round? Oh, it is then that is good to know for going forward.
Learn – We now know that you want bigger and better so when we build you your next playground we will know that you are more likely to want three swings rather than two.
Rinse and Repeat – Keep this cycle going until you have built the playground of your customer’s dreams and take the lessons learned to grow your team and your company.

So, as you can see you can often find yourself in a methodology conundrum with all the options that are available to you. These are but three of the many different project management methodologies available to you as a manager. Do you have a specific methodology that you believe is the end all be all of project management? Let us know more in the comments section and have fun building your own playgrounds!